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Civil Rights Plaintiffs And The Proposed Revision Of Rule 11, Carl W. Tobias
Civil Rights Plaintiffs And The Proposed Revision Of Rule 11, Carl W. Tobias
Law Faculty Publications
The 1983 amendment of Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 11 has been the most controversial revision of the Federal Rules in their fifty-five-year history, and Rule l l's implementation has been most controversial in civil rights cases. Rule ll's application has disadvantaged civil rights plaintiffs more than any other category of civil litigant. Courts have found civil rights plaintiffs in violation of Rule 11 at a higher rate than other types of plaintiffs and have imposed substantial sanctions on them. Civil rights plaintiffs have been required to participate in expensive, unnecessary satellite litigation involving this provision. Indeed, a new study …
Reassessing Rule 11 And Civil Rights Cases, Carl W. Tobias
Reassessing Rule 11 And Civil Rights Cases, Carl W. Tobias
Law Faculty Publications
The Advisory Committee on the Civil Rules amended Federal Rule of Civil Procedure (Rule 11) in August 1983 because of increasing concern about attorney abuses in civil lawsuits and about the so-called litigation explosion. The revision commands courts to sanction lawyers and parties who do not undertake reasonable prefiling inquiries. Certain aspects of the new version's implementation provoked substantial controversy which continued virtually undiminished from the amendment's August 1983 effective date at least until the fifth anniversary of its adoption. Perhaps most controversial was the question whether courts' application inhibited the pursuit of legitimate litigation, especially cases involving civil rights …
Rule 11 And Civil Rights Litigation, Carl W. Tobias
Rule 11 And Civil Rights Litigation, Carl W. Tobias
Law Faculty Publications
The recent amendment of rule 11 may well have engendered more controversy than any other revision since the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure were first promulgated one-half century ago. The new version essentially requires that judges impose sanctions on lawyers and parties who fail to conduct reasonable inquiries before filing court papers. The amendment's adoption was prompted by increasing concern about abuse of the litigation process and about the "litigation explosion" -the perception that unprecedented numbers of civil cases were being filed and that too many lacked merit. Proponents have hailed the revised rule as the savior of the civil …